Klaviyo’s New Pricing Model: What You Need to Know

If you're using Klaviyo for email marketing, you may have noticed an increase in your billing. As of 18th February 2025, Klaviyo revised its pricing structure, moving from charging based solely on email volume to also including active profiles.

For businesses that don’t actively manage their email list, this change has resulted in higher costs. The key to minimizing these costs is understanding what an active profile is and implementing an effective list management strategy.

What Counts as an Active Profile in Klaviyo?

According to Klaviyo, an active profile is any contact that can receive marketing emails through the platform. These profiles fall into two main categories:

1. Opt-in Subscribers

These are users who have explicitly opted in to receive marketing emails via sign-up forms, pop-ups, or preference settings.

2. Implied Consent Subscribers

These are users who have provided their email address through actions such as:

• Making a purchase without subscribing
• Abandoning checkout after entering their email

Since all active profiles are billable, failing to remove unengaged contacts could mean paying for subscribers who never open, click, or even receive your emails.

How Klaviyo’s Pricing Change Affects Your Costs

Previously, Klaviyo only charged for emails sent. Now, with active profiles included in pricing, your costs are based on the total number of active profiles in your account, even if they never engage with your emails.

If your active profile count exceeds your plan limit, Klaviyo will automatically upgrade your plan at the start of the next billing cycle.

What This Means for Your Business

• You could be paying for disengaged subscribers‍
• Your costs may rise unexpectedly due to inactive profiles
• Low engagement rates may hurt your email deliverability

To avoid unnecessary expenses, cleaning your email list and using a sunset flow before removing inactive contacts is now essential.

How to Reduce Klaviyo Costs & Optimise Your Email List

1. Implement a Sunset Flow to Remove Inactive Subscribers

Your sunset flow at 180 days ensures that inactive subscribers have one last opportunity to engage before being removed. This flow helps maintain high email deliverability while reducing costs by keeping only highly engaged contacts.

Example Sunset Flow Strategy:

• Email 1: “Still interested? Let us know!”
• ‍Email 2: Offer an exclusive discount or valuable content to re-engage them.
• ‍Email 3: “This is your last chance to stay subscribed.”
• Final Action: If they don’t engage, suppress their profile to stop them from increasing costs.

By implementing a sunset flow, you automate the process of removing inactive users, keeping your list lean and cost-efficient while ensuring valuable customers have a final chance to re-engage.

2. Create Segments to Identify Costly Contacts Before Suppression

Beyond the sunset flow, create targeted segments to identify and suppress disengaged contacts who do not re-engage.

Segment 1: Never-Engaged Subscribers

These are users who have received multiple emails but have never opened or clicked. To find them filter by:

• Received at least 5 emails in the last 180 days
• Never opened or clicked an email
• Never placed an order

Purpose: These users are already unengaged at 180 days. If they do not respond to the sunset flow, they can be suppressed to avoid unnecessary billing.

Segment 2: Soft Subscribers (200+ Days Inactive, No Subscription)

• Can receive emails but never explicitly subscribed
• Never opened, clicked, placed an order, or viewed a product
• Inactive for 200+ days

Purpose: These contacts were never true subscribers and do not engage, meaning they should be reviewed for suppression if they have not responded to re-engagement attempts.

Segment 3: Long-Term Inactive Profiles (72 Weeks Inactive)

• Placed an order zero times in the last 72 weeks
• Started checkout zero times in the last 72 weeks
• Active on site zero times in the last 72 weeks
• Clicked an email zero times in the last 72 weeks

Purpose: This segment identifies past customers who have not interacted in over 16 months. If they do not respond to targeted win-back campaigns, they should be suppressed.

What Happens When You Suppress a Profile in Klaviyo?

Suppressing a profile means:

• The contact remains in your database but will no longer receive marketing emails.
• ‍Suppressed profiles do not count toward your billable active profiles—helping to lower your costs while retaining valuable data.

Why Should You Suppress Inactive Profiles?

• Reduces costs by keeping your active profile count low
• Improves email deliverability by eliminating disengaged users
• Retains customer data for future analysis and possible re-engagement

Regularly suppressing unengaged contacts—after they go through the sunset flow—is one of the most effective ways to control costs under Klaviyo’s new pricing model.

Final Thoughts: Stay Profitable with Smarter Email List Management

Klaviyo’s pricing structure update means businesses need to be proactive in managing their email lists to avoid unnecessary costs. If you’re not actively suppressing unengaged contacts, you may be overpaying for subscribers who never interact with your emails.

By implementing a sunset flow first, creating smart segments, and suppressing inactive profiles, you can optimise your Klaviyo costs while improving email performance.

Next Steps to Reduce Klaviyo Costs

• Check your Klaviyo billing and assess your active profiles
• Ensure inactive contacts go through the sunset flow before suppression
• Regularly clean your list to avoid paying for unengaged contacts

Need help mangaging your email marketing? Contact us today for tailored solutions.